


The Presence of the Past

by tlcroft



Category: Chicago PD, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: "Six Months Later" fic, Hank Voight "phone in" appearance, Mention of previous rape/noncon, missing person, previous assault
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22877203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tlcroft/pseuds/tlcroft
Summary: It's been six months since Peter Stone walked out of the courtroom and disappeared...
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	The Presence of the Past

Olivia Benson sighed as she headed for her office, her mind just barely registering the conversation between now ADA Sonny Carisi and Detective Sergent Tutula Odafin.

“I can’t believe he left the office in that big of a mess,” Fin was saying as he leaned back in his chair. “He always seemed so on top of things, you know?”

“I don’t think Stone intended to,” Carisi told him, picking up one of Fin’s paperweights, fiddling with it to have something to do with his expressive hands. “Everything was fine except for the Dunlowsky case. The paperwork to that was literally all over the place. It’s like he was working on it right up until court, then never came back to the office. I mean, even the few personal things he had at the office haven’t even been picked up and it’s been six months.” Six long grueling months of Sonny getting up to speed on Peter Stone’s workload, six months of working cases Stone left hanging when he vanished. And still Sonny defended him to his squad. No one, including his landlord had seen Stone after he spoke to Olivia outside the courtroom. He hadn’t even sent in his resignation, making District Attorney Jack McCoy livid. And Jack’s husband’s medical problems were a burden Olivia wouldn’t wish on her worst enemy. Mike Cutter’s health had always been fragile; Jack McCoy’s resignation was only a matter of time. Olivia prayed that whoever replaced him would be good; she didn’t dare hope as good as McCoy had been.

The ringing of her desk phone cut off her train of thought. “Olivia Benson, Special Victim’s Unit.”

“Sergent Benson, it’s Sergent Hank Voight, from Chicago PD’s Intelligence Unit.” the raspy voice immediately identified the short burly detective she had met over two years ago on a convoluted human trafficking case. “Do you know how I can get in touch with Peter Stone?”

“No, I don’t,” Olivia admitted, all her attention now on Voight. “He didn’t leave a forwarding address or new telephone number when he resigned six months ago.”

“Damn,” Voight swore softly. “I wanted to tell him we finally caught his rapist but no one knows where he is.”

“Wait. Stone was raped?”

“Yeah.” Compassion and concern were thick in Voight’s voice. “ ‘Bout nine, ten months before he returned to New York. You didn’t know this?”

“No,” Olivia admitted slowly. “Peter never mentioned any of this to anyone.” Though taking care of a mentally ill sister and a dying father was enough to put anyone in a tailspin. As usual, Peter had focused on everyone else’s needs and not his own. It was so typical of Peter that Olivia felt ready to cry. “Look, Hank, if I hear from him I’ll pass the message on.”

“Best I’m gonna get,” Voight grunted. “Thanks, Olivia.”

“You’re welcome, Hank. Bye.”

“Who wants to contact Stone?” Rollins wanted to know from the doorway, Carisi peering over her shoulder.

“Remember Sergent Hank Voight from that Chicago trafficking case? He wanted Peter to know that they caught his rapist.”

Rollins drew in a sharp breath, Carisi closing his eyes. Rollins had only met Peter Stone briefly in Chicago but, like Olivia and Sonny, she had noticed how different he acted when he became their ADA. 

“So now we know why he changed,” Finn muttered and Olivia could only nod her agreement.

####

Manhatten District Attorney Jack McCoy hung up his phone, his hand shaking. It had come as a shock that Peter Stone was a rape victim. He had seemed more somber than Jack remembered at his father’s funeral but both Jack and his young husband, Mike Cutter, had put it down to grief. Now Jack knew better and mentally kicked himself for asking Peter to take Rafael Barba’s position with Special Victim’s. The daily grind of meeting with rape victims and their attackers would have been a torment for Stone, a constant reminder of his own assault.

“Who was it?” Mike asked from the bed, his voice hoarse as he struggled to get enough air. This past winter had been hard on Mike, attacking his weakened lungs, forcing repeated hospitalizations.

“Olivia Benson from Manhatten SVU,” Jack answered as he moved to join his husband. “A Sergent Hank Voight of the Chicago PD contacted her, looking for Peter Stone. Seems they finally caught his rapist.”

“My God.” Mike sat up, shocked. “Peter never said anything about being attacked!”

“I know.” Jack held his love close, stroking Mike’s fine thick hair. “And now we can’t find him. God, but we failed him.”

Mike didn’t say anything, just holding onto Jack as both of them cried for the collegue they had failed.

####

Harold Finch held Peter Stone close as the younger man slept. It had been sheer luck that their paths had crossed that night after Peter got away from his attackers. Harold had immediately shoved the battered and incoherent younger man into his car and headed for his nearest safe house. It had taken days for Peter to calm down enough to tell Harold what happened to him. And the brutal truth enraged Harold to the point he hacked the NYPD mainframe in order to ruin the three police officers who had kidnapped Peter Stone off the street, then raped and beaten him for four days. Finally Peter managed to get away, his mind so broken and abused that he wanted to kill himself.

Harold wouldn’t let him. His partner and friend, John Reese had almost died from his despair at finding out his best friend and lover had been killed while he was overseas. Adrift and bleeding inside, John had needed the purpose Harold had given him, the opportunity to be there in time for men and women at risk. After John’s sacrifice to set the Machine free, Harold would not let another man die.

It had taken over a month for Harold to break through Peter’s fear and self hate. And another two months to convince Peter to rebuild his life. Learning who Peter’s father was had been the first step.

Harold had first met former Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone after listening to him speak at a law enforcement conference here in New York City. Though he had been impressed by Ben Stone’s dedication to bringing victims justice, he had found his indifference to his family deplorable. Several collegues from across the country had spoken to him about his son and daughter but Stone had been somewhat dismissive of their lives—when he remembered what they were doing. Even now, Harold was enraged by how Ben Stone had dismissed his children’s accomplishments. 

It did explain Peter’s self hate and lack of self esteem though. Peter was very young when his mother died, while his sister had battled mental illness for all of his teen years. Baseball had been his solace, even taking him to a spot on the Chicago Cubs roster until a torn rotator cuff that healed badly ended his career, forcing him back to his second love and law school at Chicago University.

After passing the Illinois Bar Exam in the top five percentile (and the New York Bar at his father’s insistence) Peter carved out a place for himself in the State Attorney’s office, quickly becoming the top ASA for the city of Chicago—until a chance meeting at a lawyer’s hangout led to a night of rape and abuse he still did not clearly remember. And even after five years of working the case in their spare time, Chicago PD’s intelligence Squad had yet to identify Peter’s attacker, let alone catch him.

Peter had originally left Chicago to care for his father and sister, hoping time, counseling, and distance would make his memories less painful, the thought of practicing law less frightening. After his father’s funeral, Jack McCoy had asked him to come in as a Special Counsel and prosecute ADA Rafael Barba as a favor in memory of Ben Stone. Peter had done as he asked, then found himself railroaded into taking Barba’s former position with Special Victims. He did his best, but the haunting memories of his assault and the constant comparisons to his father had worn on him until he finally left, running straight into the three officers who kidnapped and abused him for four days. 

Harold and Peter still did not know WHY Peter had been attacked. He did not know any of the three, had never dealt with them professionally or personally. And, though they preserved the evidence of his assault, there was little chance that Peter would ever press charges. Which was why Harold and his Machine had hacked into the NYPD computers, making their professional lives a living hell. 

Their phones rang at the same time, waking Peter, and they fumbled for the small gadgets, cursing the phone companies for constantly going smaller and smaller. They already had trouble with the buttons.

Both phones showed the same text message: Turn on ZNN.

Harold grabbed the remote and the all news channel came on in the middle of a story from Chicago about the arrest of a nationally wanted serial rapist. “It’s him,” Peter whispered, the drawn haunted look on his face easing. “That’s him, Harold.”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s find out more,” Harold scooped his laptop off the bedside table and Peter leaned over his shoulder, the pose a bittersweet reminder of the many times John Reese had done the same. Peter kissed the side of his head, knowing that Harold was remembering the man Peter knew only through Harold’s memories.

THE END OF THEIR BEGINNING.

**Author's Note:**

> I am writing the story of what happened to make Peter Stone leave Chicago, but it is NOT FINISHED. When it is I will post it. And I do welcome all comments, thoughts, discussions, impressions, whatever. Flames, however, will be used to cook shrimp!
> 
> And I just realized that I didn't mention something that looks like a mistake but isn't: Hank Voight addressing Olivia Benson as Sergent. By the Time Rafael Barba left Olivia Benson was a Leutenant--but Voight doesn't know that. When they met they were both Sergents.


End file.
